We have reviewed several mounts for the Mac mini over the last two years, and without a doubt, the CinnaMount mini by Cinnamon Peripherals is the best of the bunch. This versatile mount allows you to mount your Mac mini under a desk, shelf or on a wall. It can also be stacked or mounted side-by-side with additional CinnaMount minis for mounting external devices like the NewerTech miniStack V2 or Apple's new 802.11n Airport Extreme base station alongside your Mac mini.

Our CinnaMount mini came packaged neatly in a small white box. Included in the box was the mount itself, four 5/8" screws with white plastic caps for securing the mount, four #6-32 3/16" bolts for attaching an additional mount, an Allen wrench, three Velcro strips for cable management, a drilling template and the instruction manual. Our kit also came with an optional mount for the Mac mini's power supply.

The instruction manual that comes with the kit is well written and provides all the information needed to install the CinnaMount mini. To install the mount, you will need a hammer, nail, Phillips #2 screwdriver and a drill with 3/32" bit. It should also be noted that your mounting surface needs to be at least 5/8" thick. We were able to install our CinnaMount mini underneath a desk in roughly an hour. This included attaching a second mount below with the #6-32 3/16" bolts and Allen wrench supplied in the kit.

The CinnaMount mini itself is made out of a single piece of 0.051" thick anodized aluminum. This allows the mount to be both sturdy and lightweight. The anodized aluminum also matches the coloring of the Mac mini perfectly. The dimensions of the mount are 6 13/16" wide x 6 5/32" deep x 2 3/8" tall, but the actual sides of the mount are only 3" deep. They are unobtrusive and allow for easier access to the back of the Mac mini. The sides are also lined with foam pads that will protect and hold your Mac mini snuggly in place.

The bottom of the CinnaMount mini follows the contours of the Mac mini's bottom vents to allow for maximum airflow. Our Mac mini ran at normal operating temperatures while sitting inside the mount. The bottom of the mount also features a raised lip on the back to prevent the Mac mini from sliding or falling out of the mount. This lip also prevents the Mac mini from falling out of the CinnaMount mini when it's mounted on a wall.

As we have mentioned, the CinnaMount mini can be stacked so that your external hard drives and other devices can be mounted alongside your Mac mini. You can stack up to three mounts vertically. If you don't have enough room to stack them vertically, the design of the CinnaMount mini also allows you to mount them side-by-side. This method of mounting might actually work out better in an entertainment center or where space is limited.

We tested two CinnaMount minis stacked vertically with four of the most popular Mac mini-style external hard drives on the market. This included the LaCie mini Hard Drive & Hub, NewerTech miniStack V2, MicroNet miniMate and the WiebeTech Maxelerate. They all fit nicely into the mount. The shorter sides of the mount that we talked about before also allow for complete access to the side USB and FireWire ports on the LaCie mini Hard Drive & Hub and NewerTech miniStack V2. We would also like to mention that the added space (approximately 3/4") between your Mac mini and the external hard drive in the second mount will prevent heat from being transferred between the two devices.

Overall, we can recommend this product to our readers and give it a score of 4 out of 4 stars. The CinnaMount mini is shipping now, and has a suggested retail price of $30.20 ($34.50 with the optional power supply mount). Cinnamon Peripherals also offers the CinnaMount mini in black anodized aluminum at the same price.